OpenAI, Jony Ive Build $300+ Puck-Shaped Smart Speaker for 2027
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- OpenAI is developing a battery-powered smart speaker with former Apple designer Jony Ive that is roughly hockey-puck-sized and doughnut-shaped, per Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
- The device is expected to launch in 2027 at a price over $300 and will include moving parts that activate on their own to signal responses, plus lights, a camera system, and other sensors.
- OpenAI designed the device to be carried around the home one-handed, drawing a comparison in Gurman's reporting to Amazon's now-discontinued Tap speaker.
- The speaker will function similarly to ChatGPT's voice mode on smartphone apps but with more advanced models for humanlike interactivity.
- Gurman reports the device will 'look and feel nothing like an Apple product,' a notable framing given Ive's Apple pedigree and the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and OpenAI.
- The puck speaker could be the first in what OpenAI describes as a planned 'family of devices,' with more details expected before the 2027 launch.
Why it matters: This is OpenAI's first confirmed consumer hardware form factor and its first product with Ive, putting a $300+ price tag and 2027 timeline on a voice-first AI companion that openly competes with smart speakers from Amazon and Google. The fact that Gurman emphasizes it won't resemble an Apple product — despite Ive's history and the active Apple–OpenAI lawsuit — signals a deliberate brand break rather than an Ive-designed Apple homage.
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